‘The Diplomat’ Season 4 Netflix Review: Keri Russell And Company Keep Juggling Global Catastrophes In A Shakier But Still Gripping Return

At the beginning of the fourth episode of the fourth season of The Diplomat, a scene we saw at the end of the previous episode is shown again from a different, almost opposite point of view. And from what we see this time around, we realize that things weren’t quite what they appeared to be. That misunderstanding, in turn, sets off a political chain reaction that throws both sides of the Atlantic into chaos. Welcome to the new season of The Diplomat, a series that makes it increasingly clear that much of the Western world —perhaps the entire world— is somehow surviving by sheer luck.

Yes, the protagonists of the series created by Debora Cahn seem perfectly qualified for their jobs as president, prime minister, ambassador and even «first husband» and «second lady» (certainly more qualified than some people in real life), but they have a tendency to make extremely expensive mistakes. Wars are lost, people die, enormous amounts of money are spent, and so on. Everyone is constantly trying to figure out what everyone else is thinking, and they’re almost always wrong. Even when that «other» person happens to be their own partner, their lover, or both at the same time.

The season picks up from the events of the previous one and initially unfolds during an unexpected stop at Windsor Castle, when the American delegation passing through Britain (watching the show, you get the impression that the president of the United States is far too concerned with what’s happening in Britain, if she isn’t actually there herself) is forced to halt on its way to the airport because a protest blocks the road. Note: let’s agree that this is a fairly odd narrative excuse. The stop does, however, allow the series to settle into its natural habitat of palace intrigue, which is where it works best. In fact, when The Diplomat isn’t confined to a single time and place, it’s not always entirely clear who is where, or how they managed to «cross the pond» so quickly.

This is a show of interiors (the exteriors tend to be a palace garden, the entrance to 10 Downing Street or a park near the White House) that takes place in a universe where reality functions as a space for thought but never quite as a physical thing. Are there people in the world outside politicians, ministers, advisers and the service staff at palaces, residences and government offices? Or does all of this take place on another planet? At times, The Diplomat feels as if it exists inside a sealed-off space, almost like a stage play about political intrigue in which the rest of the world is somewhere behind the curtains.

Kate Wyler (Keri Russell, impeccable as always) is now, in addition to being the ambassador to Britain, the wife of Vice President Hal Wyler (Rufus Sewell), a position she actually wanted for herself. Their relationship is more strained than ever to begin with because, despite loving each other, they rarely agree on anything. Kate believes that the partnership between Hal and President Grace Penn (Allison Janney) could easily get out of control —the two of them decided, without telling the British, to steal a nuclear weapon from a Russian submarine— and put Western stability at risk. And she has a point, although she isn’t always able to keep herself out of the mud either.

Just when the tension between the three seems ready to explode, an attack in the gardens of Windsor itself shakes everything up. It forces everyone to rethink how to respond to what has happened. The victim survives, but the calculations surrounding what might happen if that changes begin to reveal the ambitions of one side and another. And just as one problem appears to be settling down, trouble starts on the other side of the Atlantic: deaths, psychological breakdowns, things said at precisely the wrong moment and secrets coming to light. The chaos keeps growing, while our central couple —sometimes in agreement, sometimes very much not— tries to figure out how they ended up in the middle of all of it.

The summary above is deliberately vague, I know, but I’d rather avoid spoilers. The Diplomat operates through major shifts in direction every two or three episodes, and it’s better not to give those away. This time around, several of them feel a little forced or unnecessary, as if the writers needed major events to keep viewers hooked when they might otherwise get lost in the minutiae of politicians’ everyday lives. But that, in fact, is the best thing the show has going for it: its ability to turn high-level politics into a romantic comedy in which a love affair —or even the suspicion of one— can change the course of world history.

The fourth season is shakier than the previous ones, but it’s still an engaging watch, with a cast that seems completely comfortable in its roles and knows exactly how to play the game of double and triple-crosses. Sewell and Janney make fine supporting players to Russell’s MVP, but we shouldn’t overlook the great Bradley Whitford as Grace’s «first husband,» the president’s uncomfortable spouse, who isn’t particularly thrilled about having to worry about choosing paint colors for the White House walls or finding the right décor for a room.

Elsewhere, the romantic subplot involving Stuart and Eidra (Ato Essandoh and Ali Ahn) is beginning to feel repetitive, while Rory Kinnear, as Prime Minister Trowbridge, increasingly seems to be the guy who pulls another rabbit out of his hat whenever things appear to be settling down. And he does something along those lines in the fourth episode. After watching him there, no one will ever take British politicians entirely seriously again. To be fair, it’s been a while since anyone did.